Hermann a



(No Model.)

H. A. GORN.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLER. I No. 552,756. Patented Jan. '7, 1896.

E7 4/ v E 4- ANHREW BGRAHAMY. PHOTO-LITHOVWA$HIN GTDN. D C

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IIERMANN A. GORN, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRlC-ClRCUIT CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,756, dated January '7, 1896.

Application filed July 26, 1895- serial No. 557,177. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMANN A. GoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Electric-Circuit Controllers, of which the following is a specification.

Electric motors have been made use of in running elevators in buildings and for furnishing power for other kinds of work, and these motors are under the control of an attendant, and it is important, especially in elevators, to prevent a spark occuring at the switch that is controlled by the attendant, because the risk of fire is to be avoided, and any unpleasant noise should not be made, of a character to disturb the parties that are near the switch.

The object of the present invention is to control the electric current in a reliable manner and without the development of a spark or noise at the switch employed for turning on or off the current to stop, start or reverse the motor or car,

I make use of an electromagnet for giving motion to the circuit-changer and arrange the contacts and the circuits in such a manner that when the current is turned through the electromagnet the circuit-changer will receive motion and gradually bring the maincurrent into action upon the electric motor, there being resistances or rheostats that are thrown out of action progressively as the current is turned on in moving the motor in either one direction or the other.

In the drawing Ihave represented the present improvements by a diagram.

The electric motor is represented. at A, and b 1) indicate the field-helices, and 8 and 9 the commutatonbrushes. O and 0 indicate solenoids, having cores h and hconnected by links with the circuit-changer d, which is formed as a lever pivoted at 10, and having upon it near one end contacts 9 for the stationary contact-segments m m and insulated contacts i and pfor the stationary contactscgments q q and for the contact-segment} and the rheostat-contacts Zto Z and at the other end of the circuit-changer there are the contact-plates g for the stationary contactsegments 12 a and the insulated contacts 2" 1) for the stationary contact-segments r r and 7c and 7c.

The hand-actuated switch D is adapted to close the circuit at the contact-plateforf, and let E E represent the feeders for the electric current from a dynamo or other source, and presuming that the circuit-changer dis in the position shown by full lines and that it is desired to change it to the position shown by dotted lines, and that the switch D is in the position shown by full lines at stop and it is turned to make contact with f to start the motor, the current will pass from E through 1 D 2 m g m and by the wire 3 through the core 0 of the solenoid and by the wire 4 to the conductor E of opposite polarity, and in this manner the solenoid C will act upon the core h and swing the circuit-changer d from the position of full lines to the position of dotted lines, and in so doing the circuit will be broken through q q simultaneously with the circuit being closed by 2 between Z and Z, and the circuit through the solenoidcore 0 will be maintained until the contactplate g separates from the ends of mm. Hence there will not be any current between the switch D and the plate f except that which is necessary to pass through the solenoidhelik G, and there will not be any static charge or discharge and no spark when the switch D comes in contact with f, and the current is broken in the circuit to the switch D the moment the contact-plate g separates from m m, and should there be a spark at this point it is immaterial, because it is at a distance from the elevator-car or other place at which the switch D is located, and hence there will not be any spark at the switch D when it is turned back from contact with the plate f.

In order to move the circuit-changer (Z from the position indicated by dotted lines back to the position indicated by full lines any suitable device may be employed, but I prefer to use the solenoid C, the core h of which is connected by a link with the circuit-changer d, and it will be observed that when the circuit-changer cl has been moved from the position shown by full lines to the position shown by dotted lines the plate g has traversed over the stationarycontact-segments 71 01, but there has not been any current through these, because the circuit to them was broken between D and f. Hence when the said switch D is changed from f to f the circuit is closed, and the current from E passes by 1 through D f 5 to n, and through 9 to n, and thence by the wire (3 through the solenoid C and wire 4 to the returnconductor E, and the current acting in C draws the core 71, and returns the circuit-changer d to the position shown by full lines, and during this operation the circuit to the solenoid C is broken by g separated from n n, and a circuit is reestablished between m and m through the plate 9 ready for the first-described movement to be effected again when the switch D is brought into contact with the plate f.

The movements thus far described maybe employed in driving a motor or in effecting any other electrical operations. I have especially designed the improvement for controlling the motor A and driving the same in either one direction or the other, and it will be observed that as the circuit-changer d is moved as aforesaid, from the position shown by full lines toward and to the position represented by the dotted lines, the insulated contact 11" separates from q q and the insulated contact i closes between I and Z, and at this time the entire rheostat L is in the circuit, and as the contact t' travels over the rheostat the resistance thereof is lessened until the contact 1' arrives at the plate Z throwing the rheostat L out of the circuit; but when the movement is commenced the entire rheostat being in the circuit forms such a resistance that the current will be lessened in its action upon the motor A and gradually increase to the maximum.

In the position shown by the full lines the current from the conductor E will pass to the commutator-brush 9 and by the wire 12 to q and by q to the wire 13 and back to the brush 8, and hence the motor will be inoperative, the currents opposing each other, and at the same time the current from the conductor E will pass by 14: to the helices Z) b of the fields, and by 15 through 0* p 1, and, by the wire 16 back again, and hence will bebperative; but as soon as the circuit-changer d makes contact and assumes the position shown by dotted lines, the current will pass to 9 and through the armature and by the brush 8 and wire 18 to Z and through i to Z and to the return-conductor, and it will also pass from lat through D b and by 20 k t" 7a and by 11 to the return-conductor, thus causing the motor to rotate in one direction until the switch D is brought into contact with j and the electromagnet O energized to restore the circuit-changer d to the position shown by full lines and stop the rotation of the motor.

At 8 and s I have represented what I term a current-controller, composed of plates or 6 gnbars with conductors passing from one to the other, such wires being of such a size and ma terial as to furnish a greater or less resistance to the current, and by increasing the number of wires the resistance will be lessened. These ourrent-controllers s and s are in the circuits that are closed by the contacts 1) and 19 coming respectively upon the plates (1 q and r r", and these current-controllers serve the purpose of neutralizing and dispersing any static discharge from the motor, and thereby preventing injury either to the motor or to the contact-plates at the time the main conductors are connected in opposite directions so as to neutralize each other in their action upon the respective parts of the motor; and it will be observed that when the circuit-changer is moved back from the position shown by dotted lines to that shown by the full lines, the rheostat L is gradually brought into the circuit and forms such a resistance that there will be but little spark at the time the current through the same is broken.

It will be observed that when. the motor is stopped there is simultaneously established a local circuit containing the armature, and another containing the field-helices, and that the current-controller s is in one and s in the other, and the residual magnetism and induced electric currents will be discharged and neutralized or broken up in these local circuits so as not to react and produce sparks. The rheostat coils are thrown out of circuit when the motor is stopped. Hence they do not become heated. The eurrentchanger,motor, and circuit connections may be employed in giving motion to any devices, such as hoisting apparatus, cranes, gun-carriages, rudders, railway-switches, signals, (be.

The magnet that moves the switch does so as soon as the necessary magnetism is developed, and this often happens before saturation,and by the movement of the switch breaking the circuit to the magnet that moves it the development of sparks is reduced to a minimum.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the armature and field helices and the supply conductors, of a circuit changer, two magnets for moving the circuit changer in opposite direction, a hand actuated switch, contact segments and contacts moved by the circuit changer, and local. circuit connections to thefields and armature respectively, whereby the movement of the circuit changer in one direction breaks the local circuits and throws the current through the fields and armature of the dynamo or motor and simultaneously breaks the circuit to the magnet that has moved the circuit changer and prepares a route to the other actuating magnet for the current when turned on by the hand actuated switch, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with. the armature and field helices and the conductors supplying the current, of a hand actuated switch, a circuit changer and contact plates and rheostat and two electronnagnets for movir g the circuit changer in opposite directions, the circuits being arranged as set forth so that the circuit changer breaks the circuit to its actuating magnet at the end of its movement and closes the circuit to the magnet acting in the other direction, ready for the current to be turned on by the switch, substantially as specified.

The combination With the armature and field helices and the conductors supplying the current, of a hand actuated switch, a circuit changer and contact plates and rheostat and two electro-magnets for moving the circuit changer in opposite directions, the circuits being arranged as set forth so that the circuit changer breaks the circuit to its actuating current is cut off from the motor, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 24th day of July, 1895.

HERMANN A. GORN. Witnesses I-IARRoLD SERRELL, CHAs. H. SMITH. 

